17 girls dead in fire at school dormitory in Thailand Monday May 23,2016

Seventeen girls died after a fire swept through the dormitory of a school for children of hill tribes in northern Thailand, officials said on Monday May 23,2016, adding several others were injured in the blaze.

The fire started late at night, meaning many of the children at the charity-run Christian school were asleep and unable to escape as flames engulfed the two-storey building, Colonel Prayad Singsin of the police in Chiang Rai told AFP.

Two of the injured are in a serious condition, he said, but added that initial fears that two more girls were missing had been discounted after rescuers picked them through the charred debris.

“The fire is out, but the cause of the blaze is still under investigation,” Prayad said, adding forensic officers were due to arrive.